Educate to leave a lasting legacy
Raised in a family of teachers, Suzanne switched from an engineering to a business degree, and moved into program management for the Panama Canal expansion. Here, the educational ethos she was raised in came into its own, as she nurtured the development of local businesses and skilled labor.
Focus on value, not just cost
Suzanne has “a mind and a passion for business”, but also knows that an unyielding fixation with the bottom line is also what causes many programs to fail. “Program management isn’t just about measuring against cost and schedule, it’s about measuring against the benefits the program is intended to deliver,” she explains.
“The point is, you’re doing this for a reason; not just to put a building up, but to create a better community environment where people enjoy more access and there is more economic justice and opportunity for advancement. If you build those things into the systems and how you’re making decisions, that’s the difference between real, true Environmental and Social Governance (ESG) and the kind that is just talked about.”
Roll up your sleeves – and have some fun!
As you might expect from someone so passionate about community development, Suzanne’s take on program management is that it stands or falls not by its technical sophistication, but ultimately by its ability to engage its stakeholders meaningfully.
And like every good communicator, Suzanne knows this demands more than “just” exceptional communication skills, strong emotional intelligence, and transparency. Sometimes, she says, it also needs you to “roll up your sleeves, have some fun, and bring people up with you.”